Three questions with Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin

Anquan Boldin

Baltimore Sun photo

Baltimore Sun photo

Edward Lee, The Baltimore Sun

The Ravens scored two rushing touchdowns in last Sunday's 25-15 win against the Cleveland Browns. Bernard Pierce's 12-yard scamper with one second left in the first quarter gave the team a 14-0 lead, but it might have gone for naught if not for a timely block by Anquan Boldin.

Lined up to the left of the offensive front, the wide receiver engaged cornerback Sheldon Brown long enough at the 8-yard line for Pierce to bounce to his left and race down the sideline untouched. It was a seemingly minor footnote in a performance in which Boldin had five catches for 57yards, but to Boldin, the block was just as important as his 21-yard reception that contributed to Torrey Smith's game-winning 19-yard touchdown catch.

Boldin talked about the block and the value of blocking as a receiver.

What do you remember about that block that sprung Pierce?

It was just a run play. For us here, we take pride in blocking outside, and for me, it was a man-over block with no safety on that side. So it was an easy read for me.

When you are making a block, how do you know when to continue to block and when to let go so that you don't get flagged for holding?

Sometimes you can see the Jumbotron, and that lets you know. You can see the Jumbotron and see where the running back is. And you can tell by the defender, whether he's trying to slide off. If he's trying to slide inside, obviously, the running back is coming up inside. So you try to reposition yourself.

How much pride do you take in your blocking?

I just look at it as, when I have the ball in my hands, I want people blocking for me. And you never want to be caught on film and see that your guy could have had a touchdown, but your man made the tackle. That's something I take pride in. I think some people overlook it just because wide receivers aren't known for blocking. I think it makes the offense go. Whenever you see long touchdown runs, it's because guys are making blocks outside. Guys want to sustain drives and get their running backs big runs by blocking outside.